Helpful Oral Motor Exercises

Exercise Your Mouth:  Ready, Set, Go... 1. Open and close your mouth slowly several times. Be sure lips are all the way closed.

2. Pucker your lips, as for a kiss, hold, then relax. Repeat several times.

3. Spread lips into a big smile, hold, then relax. Repeat several times.

4. Pucker, hold, smile, hold. Repeat this alternating movement several times.

5. Open your mouth then try to pucker with your mouth wide open. Don't close your jaw. Hold, relax and repeat several times.

6. Close your lips tightly and press together. Relax and repeat.

7. Close your lips firmly, slurp all the saliva onto the top of your tongue.

8. Open your mouth and stick out your tongue. Be sure your tongue comes straight out of your mouth and doesn't go off to the side. Hold, relax and repeat several times. Work toward sticking your tongue out farther each day, but still pointing straight ahead.

9. Stick out your tongue and move it slowly from corner to corner of your lips. Hold in each corner, relax and repeat several times. Be sure your tongue actually touches each corner each time.

10. Stick out your tongue and try to reach your chin with the tongue tip. Hold at farthest point. Relax; repeat.

What Is Speech?

What is Speech? 

Speech includes the production of phonemes (sounds), voice and fluency. In other words, articulation.

What is Language?

Language is the area of functioning that is most crucial for all aspects of cognitive and social development. Language is comprised of Receptive Language and Expressive Language.

• Receptive Language: The understanding – or what the individual receives via communication in the environment. Receptive Language includes both verbal and visual input.
• Expressive Language: Ability to communicate – express – wants and needs. Expressive Language includes both verbal and visual input.

What are Pragmatics?

Pragmatics: The use of language or may be referred to as, “social language” (e.g. taking turns, waiting, sharing, eye contact, facial expressions). Pragmatics also includes flexibility of thought and language use depending upon the situation.

What are Speech Therapy services in schools most concerned with?

Socialization /Pragmatics

Design of a Language Rich Environment

Emphasis is to encourage age appropriate language skills.

Making a Speech and Language Referral

CS-F Parents!                

It is not just the responsibility of teachers to make referrals for those students they feel may have a speech-language delay. If you have a “gut feeling” that your child is not developing or communicating like other peers their own age, then YOU can also make a referral. Please contact me and I will be more than happy to conduct a speech-language screening on your child. If you have questions about what Speech and Language means then I would like to meet with you and talk about the skills your child should have for their age.

Below is a speech chart that indicates when a child should have developed certain sounds.

Below are a few language skills that elementary age students should have developed by K5-2nd grade:

*Attends to a short story and answers simple questions about it

*Repeats four digits when they are given slowly

* Readily follows simple commands involving remote objects

* Repeats sentences up to nine words in length
* Follows three-step directions
* Responds correctly to more types of sentences but may still be confused at times by more complex sentences.
*Retells a short story and can identify the main idea of the short story
*Understands opposite concepts, such as big/little, over/under
* Understands left/right
* Understands number concepts up to 20
* Answers “How are things the same/different?”
* Uses adjectives for describing
* Uses comparative adjectives, such as loud, louder
*Uses yesterday and tomorrow
* Uses adverb concepts backward and forward
* Uses prepositions through, nearest, corner, middle
* Names ordinal numbers, such as first, second, third

 

Contact me at:

Jennifer.praytor@spartanburg2.k12.sc.us

864-592-1211

Keeping Communication: Kids with Special Needs

The first couple weeks of school have been fabulous! My speech students have shown maturity and are eager to start their adventure with their new teachers and new friends. 

I have notices that a lot of my students struggle with carrying over their speech and language skills into all settings. What skills they are learning in the therapy room are often not being used outside of the therapy room. Teachers and Parents can help!! 

To help students with special needs, make a "What I did at Home" sheet:

 A lot of students do not seem to remember what they did over the weekend or on school-nights when they are at home. Some students may just need that extra prompt to help them talk about it. This is a fantastic visual manipulative that parents can use to increase the verbal communication skills in their child; as well as, a tool that can aid teachers and therapists to help make their child successful and productive in school. 

Speech IEP's for the 2015-2016 School Year

The Speech Staff in Spartanburg District 2

Making a difference One by One

Hi Parents!                                                                      

     I wanted to let all of my “speech” parents know that some things have changed this school year with our special education meetings.

Firstly, we are welcoming a new special education director to our District, Mr. Thomas Goodwin. Mr. Goodwin works at the District Office along-side Fran Metta to manage our special education department. Fran Metta is our Special Education coordinator whom you often see at our Speech/Resource meetings.

Secondly, Our IEP meeting dates will no longer be at the end of the school year; rather, the meetings will be the date when your child was initially placed in the special education program.

As I go through these dates, some of the dates are already approaching in August and September for many of my students.

I wanted our parents to know of this change and why we would be meeting sooner this year.

*If you have any questions, please contact*

Ginger Praytor-Speech-Language Therapist 592-1211

Fran Metta-Special Education Coordinator

Thomas Goodwin-Special Education Director

Thank You for all your support and encouraging your child!  

Kids First!

Parents! Listen Up-

Dear Parents,

     What a WONDERFUL first week of school! The kids look so excited and the staff at CS-F Elementary are so excited too this year. We are lucky to have such a great faculty at Cooley Springs-Fingerville Elementary School.  

     I am going on my 19^th year as a speech-language therapist in the Spartanburg school system. I have a child of my own who is in the 10^th grade at Boiling Springs High School. I know the dedication of parents in helping your child be successful in school.  It is up to us teachers, however, to give your child a good school experience. I look forward in doing just that!

    My contact information is below. Communication is very important! No one can influence your child's life in the way that you can! Show an enthusiasm for Cooley Springs-Fingerville Elementary School and your child’s teacher!!

You will be receiving more information in the next weeks concerning your child’s speech-language therapy. You need to reread your child’s therapy goals and objectives on the IEP that you received at the end of last school year. What your child is learning in the therapy setting should always be carried out in all settings. I look forward to seeing everyone soon at Open House on September 15! Thank you for your support!

Kids First,

Jennifer “Ginger” Praytor  

Jennifer.praytor@spartanburg2.k12.sc.us

Phone: 864-592-1211 Ext:4128

WELCOME TEAM speech Bloomers!

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great summer break. This summer was very exciting for me because my family moved to Lake Bowen and this is what my view looks like everyday!
It is a very relaxing home.

I also took a trip to Nevada and saw these unique animals while we were there. I saw a lion, a tiger, a leopard and dolphins that could do a lot of flips and tricks.

I am excited for another great year at CSF Elementary. This is my fourth year at CSF and I look forward to seeing each one of my students succeed as a T. E. A. M. 

Together Everyone Achieves More!!!!